Chairman’s Reserve launches bar competition
Saint Lucian rum brand Chairman’s Reserve has debuted the Naughty & Spiced Competition in partnership with distributor Mangrove Global.
The contest is designed to champion creativity, craft, and community across the nation’s bartending scene.
Around 100 UK bars will showcase their skills by creating a signature winter serve featuring Chairman’s Reserve Spiced or spotlighting one of the brand’s own recipes. The competition will run from 17 November to 31 December.
Each bar will compete for one of two all-inclusive trips for two to Saint Lucia. The trip will include a distillery tour at Saint Lucia Distillers, where Chairman’s Reserve Rum is produced.
The brand’s spiced rum is distilled in a Coffey column still and aged in American oak. It is then infused with cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, vanilla, bitter orange peel, and bois bandé bark.
Competing venues will be judged on sales performance, social media engagement, and creativity. Top performers will also receive professional cocktail photography and national PR exposure through Mangrove and Chairman’s Reserve.
Chris Pollard, head of sales at Mangrove Global, said: “Our goal with Naughty & Spiced is to reward the smaller, independent venues that consistently show up for our brands and their customers.
“They’re the heartbeat of the on-trade, and this initiative gives them the chance to have some fun, drive engagement, and win the trip of a lifetime to Saint Lucia. It’s also a celebration of the bartenders whose passion and creativity have helped build the brand’s success across the UK.”
Participating venues will also receive product training, access to exclusive content and serves, and the chance to have their cocktails professionally photographed and showcased on Chairman’s Reserve social channels.
Nick Gillett, Mangrove’s managing director, added: “Chairman’s Reserve Spiced is everything you want from a winter rum – warming, complex and built on real craftsmanship. It’s Christmas in a bottle: nutmeg, cinnamon, burnt orange and all those natural Saint Lucian spices that instantly say winter.
“Distilled and blended on the island, it brings a depth and authenticity that sets it apart. Naughty & Spiced is about sharing that quality and giving bartenders a platform to show just how versatile great rum can be.
Saint Lucia Distillers was granted geographical indication status for its portfolio of rum brands in January 2025.
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